Lebanon

The Shamun Era, 1952-58

On September 23, 1952, the Chamber of Deputies elected Camille
Shamun to succeed Khuri. In the spring of 1953, relations between
President Shamun and Jumblatt deteriorated as Jumblatt criticized
Shamun for accommodating himself to the traditional pattern of
Lebanese politics and for toning down the radical ideals that had
led to the change of government in 1952. The balance between
religious communities, provided for in the National Pact, was
precariously maintained, and undercurrents of hostility were
discernible. The Muslim community criticized the regime in which
Christians, alleging their numerical superiority, occupied the
highest offices in the state and filled a disproportionate number
of civil service positions. Accordingly, the Muslims asked for a
census, which they were confident would prove their numerical
superiority. The Christians refused unless the census were to
include Lebanese emigrants who were mainly Christians, and they
argued that Christians contributed 80 percent of the tax revenue.

The 1956-58 period brought many pressures to bear on Lebanon.
First, there was general unrest in the Arab world following the
Suez Canal crisis and the abortive attacks on Egypt by Britain,
France, and Israel. More specifically, however, political struggles
occurred in two fields: rivalry among Lebanese political leaders
who were linked to religious or clan groups and their followers;
and the ideological struggle causing polarization between Lebanese
nationalism and growing pan-Arabism.

President Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt became the symbol of panArabism after the 1956 Suez crisis and the 1958 merger of Egypt
with Syria to form the United Arab Republic. He had great influence
on Lebanese Muslims, who looked to him for inspiration. In this
period of unrest, the Lebanese authorities, most of whom were
Christians, insisted on two things: maintaining the country's
autonomy and cooperating with the West. Christians considered their
friendly relations with the West as the only guarantee of Lebanon's
independence. President Shamun's refusal to respond favorably to
pan-Arab pressures was in direct opposition to the stand of several
prominent Sunni leaders, who devoted themselves to Nasser and the
pan-Arab cause.

In 1957 the question of the reelection of Shamun was added to
these problems of ideological cleavage. In order to be reelected,
the president needed to have the Constitution amended to permit a
president to succeed himself. A constitutional amendment required
a two-thirds vote by the Chamber of Deputies, so Shamun and his
followers had to obtain a majority in the May-June 1957 elections.

Shamun's followers did obtain a solid majority in the
elections, which the opposition considered "rigged," with the
result that some non-Christian leaders with pan-Arab sympathies
were not elected. Deprived of a legal platform from which to voice
their political opinions, they sought to express them by extralegal
means. The conflict between Shamun and the pan-Arab opposition
gained in intensity when Syria merged with Egypt. Pro-Nasser
demonstrations grew in number and in violence until a full-scale
rebellion was underway. The unrest was intensified by the
assassination of Nassib Matni, the Maronite anti-Shamun editor of
At Talagraph, a daily newspaper known for its outspoken panArabism . The revolt almost became a religious conflict between
Christians and Muslims.

This state of turmoil increased when, in the early hours of
July 14, 1958, a revolution overthrew the monarchy in Iraq and the
entire royal family was killed. In Lebanon jubilation prevailed in
areas where anti-Shamun sentiment predominated, with radio stations
announcing that the Shamun regime would be next. Shamun, realizing
the gravity of his situation, summoned the ambassadors of the
United States, Britain, and France on the morning of July 14. He
requested immediate assistance, insisting that the independence of
Lebanon was in jeopardy.

Furthermore, he invoked the terms of the Eisenhower Doctrine,
which Lebanon had signed the year before. According to its terms
the United States would "use armed forces to assist any [Middle
East] nation . . . requesting assistance against armed aggression
from any country controlled by international communism." Arguing
that Lebanese Muslims were being helped by Syria, which had
received arms from the Soviet Union, Shamun appealed for United
States military intervention. The United States responded, in large
measure because of concern over the situation in Iraq and the wish
to reassure its allies, such as Iran and Turkey, that the United
States could act. United States forces began arriving in Lebanon by
mid-afternoon of July 15 and played a symbolic rather than an
active role. In the course of the 1958 Civil War, in which United
States forces were not involved, between 2,000 and 4,000 casualties
occurred, primarily in the Muslim areas of Beirut and in Tripoli.
At the end of the crisis, the Chamber of Deputies elected General
Fuad Shihab, then commander in chief of the Lebanese Army, to serve
as president.